STATE COLLEGE — Doug Sweetland rummaged through his mom’s closet on Thursday, looking for old drawings.

The former Pixar animator and director showed off those sketches to hundreds of State College students Friday.

“Going through these drawings, I played this little game called ‘What was I thinking?’ ” he told the students. “Then, of course, there are lions. I defy any cartoonist within a 50 mile radius of this place to not draw a lion.”

Then Sweetland, who’s directing a full-length film for Sony Pictures Animation, displayed students’ drawings of a lion playing baseball, driving a bus to school and hanging out at a luau. He made jokes along the way.

“This one shoots magic in his hand and then it flips around and turns into a dove,” Sweetland said to laughs. “I mean, we go to an amazing school. Eat your heart out, Bellefonte. Does your mascot do that?”

Sweetland graduated from State College Area High School in 1992 and returned to his alma mater Friday as a 2011 Distinguished Alumnus.

During a presentation at the high school’s North Building, he discussed Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck as early influences, explained why he left Pixar after 16 years, and talked about how it feels to direct a full-length animated film.

And when he showed early story boards from his Oscar nominated short film “Presto,” he provided the sound effects.

“A lot of animators are sort of introverted and like the fact that they don’t ever actually have to go on stage. But I was never really that way,” a laughing Sweetland said afterward. “I don’t know if you could tell.”

His high school art teacher, Robert Placky, said Sweetland stood out as a student for his creativity, willingness to take feedback, and sense of humor.

“He’s always on,” said Placky. “This is the second or third time I’ve seen him speak. ... When he does the voice-overs for some of his presentations, it’s like, what’s more entertaining right now — what’s on screen or Doug?”

Growing up, Sweetland said, he spent at least 30 minutes before school watching cartoons, often practiced drawing Dumbo, and had a soft spot for any “Looney Tunes” episode directed by Chuck Jones.

“There was this one in particular. ‘Duck Amuck.’ I don’t know if you guys know this one. It’s great. It’s one where Daffy Duck — he thinks he’s a cartoon but the background keeps changing around,” said Sweetland. “And it’s revealed that actually Bugs Bunny is the animator, and he’s putting Daffy through his paces.”

After graduating from high school, Sweetland attended California Institute of the Arts, then landed a job with Pixar when the company was working on its first feature film, “Toy Story.”

He spent 16 years there — working on films like “Monsters, Inc.,” “Finding Nemo,” “Toy Story 2,” and “The Incredibles.” He was the supervising animator on “Cars.” And the 2008 short film “Presto,” which he directed, was shown before “WALL-E.”

In October 2010, Sony Pictures Animation announced that he had been hired to direct “The Familiars,” an adaptation of a recent children’s fantasy book series, written by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson. The film is scheduled to be released in 2014.

“After 16 years, I found I had more opportunities to direct a picture outside of Pixar than in. And I decided to take that opportunity,” Sweetland. “It was an incredibly hard decision.”

He referenced a quote from writer Ray Bradbury — “Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down.” — and compared his situation to being in high school.

“I feel I’m maybe not too far from where you guys are right now,” Sweetland said. “You’re thinking about college. You’re thinking about what you want to do. And even if you know what you want to do, and even if you’re lucky, like me, to be able to go off and do that, trust me: You will get to that cliff for which there is no preparation. I wish you luck. Flap like crazy, and by all means, jump.”

Students approached him afterward for pictures and autographs.

“I liked how he showed the progression of his career,” 18-year-old Eva Swanson said.

“And that he went to State High,” added 17- year-old Jana Bontrager. “That’s so cool.”

Ed Mahon can be reached at 231-4619.